Wood-turning machine



Nv. 19, 192,9. c. l.. MAT'rlsoN- Er AL l 1,735,906

WOOD TURNING MACHINE Filed July l. 1925 5 sheets-sheet 1 hw u www.

C. L.. MATTISON ET AL 3 Sheets-Sheetl .2

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Patented N ov. 19,y l19219 CARI. LAWRENCE MATTIsoN Ann CHARLES EDWARD LA rentra, or nocirronn, I Lin Nos, Assrenons To iaa'rrrson MACHINE WoRKs, or RoCKFoan, iLLnvoIs, A Conj" PORATION F ILLINOIS Woon-'runtime MACHINE Application vled Il'uly 1, 1925. Serial No.40,728. y c

In wood-turning machines, the work is commonly mounted between Va headstocl spindle and a tailstocli spindle on a swinging table, and the latter is moved back and forth manu-ally between an operative position in which the cutter engages the work and an ineperative position remote from the cutter in which the finished worl; is released and new work substituted. Heretofore the inished work has .been releasedand the new work clamped in place by manually moving the spindles axially relatively to each other when the table is positioned away from the cutter. By lcadin g and unloading the work and moving tlietable manually, a heavy burden requiring special skill is placed upon the operaior. The primary object of the presentin# vent-ion therefore is to yprovide meansy for automatically loading and unloading the machine, thereby simplifying the manipulation, and resulting in a saving of time and in increased ciiiciency of production.

IVlorev speciiically the invention contem`-Y plates .the provision .of means automatically operable as the table is moved toward'and into its inoperative position to move the spindles relatively to release theV finished work l :and then to clamp new work in place.

A further object is'to provide means of the abcve character which is adjustable so as to to be manually operable to secure the new work in place after the finished worlr` has been 4automatically released. Y Y

y .Still another object is to provide means for automatically releasing the work which is operated by movement of the table toward inoperative position, lbut which is unaifected by the return movement of the table to'operative position. Y

lOther objects reside inthe specific con'- struction of the above means and in the means for supporting and centering the worlrpreparatory to clamping it between the centers.

ln the accompanying drawings7 Figure l is a fragmentary front elevational view of a wood-turning machine embodying the features of our invention. Y W

2 is a fragmentary elevational view of one end of the machine, the driving shaft being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of thelworl: support. y j

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional viewv taken along'linel-of Fig. 3. y

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional f" view of the tailstock, the view being taken v longitudinally of the machine.l y, Y

Fig. 6. is a fragmentarysectional view of the tailstock taken along line 6-6 of Fig. l.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional View taken substantially alongline 7 7 of Fig. l," andA showing the `tailstocliv in, its operative. position relative to the cutter, the dotted lines indicating its position just after the workcenv.,

ter has been'retracted to release the work. f,

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but showing the tailstock inV its inoperative position, i. e., in its greatestdistance from the cutter., the dotted lines indicating the position of the means for separating the work centers just before a new piece of Vwork is clamped lin place. j Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8`showing the tailstock von its returnimovement to oper-y ative position. y

VWhile the invention isl susceptible of va-l rious modifications and alternative construc-V tions, we vhave showny in the drawings and will Vherein describe in detail the preferred embodiment?, but it isy tobe understood that The machine herein shown lcomprises a` main frame or base l0 on which is mounted for rotation a cutter spindle ll supporting a cutter l2 shown diagrammatically in Fig.

l. The work is supportedupon Va swinging eli table l13 mounted for movement toward and away from the cutter. The table 13 iscar' ried upon the. upper end of an upright frame 14 having its lower end pivotally supported in suitable bearings l5 at the lower forward side of the base. f

l Means is provided for swinging theV table toward and away from the frame :l0 which inthe present instance consists 'of aA rock shaft V16 supported a substantial distance for- Y wardly of the frame upon forwardly extendthe table toward and away from the cutter when the shaft 16 is rocked.

Upon the. table are supported a headstock 2O and a tailstock 21 adapted for adjustmentl in a'well known way. The headstock comprises a spindle 22 at the forward V end of which is suitably secured a sp'ur center 23 and on the rear end of which is secured a worm wheel 24. enclosed within a suitable housing V25 also enclosing a worm 26 on the `upper end ofan upright shaft 27 The worm wheel'and worm are arranged to mesh for thefpurpose of transmitting motion from the shaft 27 to the spindlef22, the shaft 27, being operatively connected at its lower end with a drive shaftl 28 V(see Fig. 2) through the medium of bevel gearing 29 in order to permit of the swinging movementl of the table toward and away from the main frame 10. A pair of universal Vcouplings 430 and 31 are provided in the shaft 27.

The tailstock 21 comprises a spindle 32 carrying at itsk inner end a spur center 33. Herein ythe spindle 32 is shown as being mounted in the tailstock bearing through the Vmedium of a sleeve 34 (see Fig. 5) which is arranged to bereciprocated to'move the spur center 33 toward and away from the vcenter 23. In order that both centers 23 and 33 maybe driven in synchronism an ,operative connectionV is provided between the spindles 22 and 32 comprising a shaft 35.1 One .end

of .the shaft ismountedin the he'adstock'for rotational but' non-longitudina'll movement, and the other-end is slidable through a suitable bearing 36 on the tailstoclnv v,The shaft 355is connected through a pinion37, an intermediate gear 38 and a drive gear 39 to the headstock spindle 22, and similarly through a gear 40, an intermediate gear 41 and la gear 42 to the tailstock spindle 32. To permit longitudinal movement of the sleeve 34, the intermediate gear 41 is made of substantial width so that the driven pinion 42 will move axially relative tothe gear in the longitudinal movements of Vthe spindle.

A .The work to be turnedis placed on a work support whichA serves to so locate the work that it will be positioned between and in axial alinement with the centers 23 and 33 when the table 13 isin its inoperative or loading ets 17. A pair of horizontal rods 46 are adjustably clamped in two sleeves 47 one of which is mounted on the upper end of each standard 43, and extend transversely of the machine. The inner ends of the rods 46 are adapted to support the ends of the work, and are provided with adjustable brackets .48, one

for each rod, for defining the lateral position ofthework. The brackets 48 may be of a height suitable to support any Ydesirednuirnber of work pieces to be turned in successive operations, and in the present instancesupport one work piece. It will be evident that the worksupport is universally adjustable to adapt it'to awide variety of work, yand to support the work in the desired yposition.-

. A pair of levers 49 (see Fig. 4)., pivotally mounted inthe split ends of the rodsv46, are resiliently held by coiledsprings 50 in engagement with the work, and serve to hold the latter scpuarely` against the lbrackets 48. The work is centered longitudinally on the' work support so that when the table is withdrawn to clamp the new work piece, the centers will clearthe ends of the work.H This is accomplished by means of a curved spring arm 52 whichengages one end surface of thework and which lis vformed on one end of a rod 53 extending through one of the bracketsv 48. The arm 52 is positioned (Fig. 1) so that the end of a work piece in abutment therewith will be cleared by the headstock center 23 and retraction of the tailstock cen ter '33 to its unclamped position insures that it will clear the other end of the work piece.l Means is provided for automatically re` ciprocating the sleeve 34 to releasethefiinished work as tli'e table 13 is movedy away from the longitudinal lrack 55 formed on the sleeve 34.

Keyed -to` a stub shaft 56 on thel pinion. 54 isV a bell crank lever 57 one arm of which is prop vided with a handle 58 for manually actuating the sleeve 34. The other arm ofthe lever 57 is operatively connected through arlink 59 with .mechanism to be hereinafter described for Aseparating thecenters 23 .and 33 .to release the work.

Secured to the frame of the tailstock 21 is a bracket 60 which is inclined upwardly and forwardly therefrom. A shaft 61 having a square end 62 adapted to receive a suitable crankV lever (not shown). extends through the upper'end of the 4bracket 60, and is adj ustably clamped -therein by means of a'set screw y63'. A cylindrical sleeve 64 tits-snugly between the hub of the bell crank lever57 vand the'bracket 60, and is formed with an end wall 65 next tol the (lat-ter. The shaft'61 extends,y through the end wall 65, and clamped therein by outwardly to yieldingly engage the lever 57 meansof-a set screw 66. Wound around the shaft 61 in the sleeve 64 is a coil spring 67, the opposite ends of :which engageV respectively in depressions 68 and 69 in the hub of the bell Crank` lever 57 and the end wall 65.- The spring 67 tends to move the sleeve 34 to the left to clamp the work positioned on the work support between the centers 23, and 33, and resists movement of the sleeve in the opposite direction. The tension of the spring 67 can be adjusted by loosening the set screw v63, rotatably adjusting the shaft 61 to the desired extent, and retightening the set screw. Upon loosening the set screw 66, the sleeve 64 will rotate on the shaft 61, thereby releasing the tension in the spring, and making the machine semi-automatic. The work will still be automatically released, but to clamp .the new work inV place the spindle 32 must be actuated manually by means of the handle 58. 'This change may be desirable where an operator finds it dihcult toposition the work Correctly on the support intime to be clamped automatically.

A pointed plunger is slidably mounted inthe bore 71 of a tubular enlargement 72 on the frame of the tailstock 21. One :end of thebore'71 is closed, and a headed bolt 73 extends' through said closed end and is threaded into the inner vend of said plunger. Mounted between the inner end of the'plunger 70 and the closed end of the bore 71 is a coil spring 74 which tends to. move the plunger as the latter is moved past from one eXtreme position into the other. The outward movement of the plunger 70 is limited bythe bolt The link 59 which is loosely connected to the bell crank lever 57 also loosely engagesA in an elongated slot 75 in the upper end of a bell crank lever 76 mounted on a stud 7 7 The lower arm of the lever 76 is provided'with a hardened point 78 which is adapted to engage opposite inclined Cam surfaces 79 and 8() on a cam block 81 as the table moves from and toward the cutter. 12. While any suitable means may be employed to support the cam block 81 rigidly with respect to the machine base 10, preferably the block is mounted on an angle shaped base 82 secured to the end of a trip bar 83. The cam block 81 is adjustably secured to the base 82 by means of a bolt 84 eX- tending through a slot 85 in the former. The

trip bar 83 is adjustably clamped in a sleeve 86 on the upper end of a vertical standard 87 adjustably clamped in a brackets 88 on the rod 45. To provide means for adjusting the cam surfaces 79 and 80 angularly, the bracket 88 is formed with a curved arm 89 extending upwardly beyond the shaft 16. A screw 91 is threaded through this arm into engagementl with the shaft 16, and upon being adjusted will tilt the supporting structure for the cam block 81 about the rod 45. A set screw 92 providesmea'ns for lockingfthe structure in place.

In operation, the table 13.with va new pieceV of work clamped between theV centers is moved from its inoperative position' which is shown in Fig. V,8, toward thecutten In this movement the cam lever 7 6 is oscillated Y v by the cam block 81, but due to the direc-V tion and range of this oscillation and the shape of said cam lever, thelever 57 is not Y oscillated.-L The slot 75 permits the' connec` tion between the link 59 and the lever 76 to pass Vthrough dead center without ai'ecting the lever 57. The work ismoved against' i after Vthe work has been released.` VAs the N: table is moved into its loading position, the

lever 76 passes over the upper' frontfedge of `the cam block 81 (see dot-ted outline in Fig.

8).,'and under the influence of the spring 67 .Y is returned to its initial position. A'new piece of work which had previously been centrally positionedA on thejwork support is thereby automatically clamped between the centers 23 and 33, and the above operation is repeated.

By looseningthe screw 66, the machine can be made semi-automatic, `requiring 4the new work to be clamped in place-bymanual oper- By providing means for automatically loading and unloading the machine, the operator is required only to place the workfon V the work support and to tilty the table, there-y by lightening the work and substantially in# creasing the speed and eiiiciency at which the machine can be operated.k

\ We claim as our invention :l y

r`1. A woodturni'ngf machine havingv in combination, a main frame having a 'cutter mounted thereon, a table having a pair of spindles mounted in spacedfrelation, said table being movable to carry the work into and out of engagementwith the cutter, driving means yfor said spindles, and means for Vautomatically releasing the work and clampingnew work in place as the table is moved away from the cutter, saidmeans co1nprising a stationary cam, adog-pivotally mount- 1 ed on said table adapted to engage said cam, a rockab-le.levergearedto one of said'spin dles, and a Vlink connecting said dog and lever. 2. A wood-turing machine having, in combina'tionf, main hframe having a cutter mounted vther'eon,a table having a pair of work supporting spindles, said table being movable ,towardand from the cutter,a sleeve Vs11i-pport-ing one of said spindles, spring means for moving said sleever inonedirection tofsecure the Work betWeensaid spindles, a bell crank' lever` operatively connectedv to said. sleeve roi1 moving said sleeve against the force oi1 said spring, and cain means for en-V gagi-Iifg sai-d leverV to release the Work as ysaid tabl-e is'inoved toward inoperative position and for releasing saidv lever When said table reaches its inoperative position to permit said spring to clamp the new Work in position, and means` connecting said sleeve and said lever including alostmotion device to render the movement of said lever ineffectual on thereturn strokejto operative position to actuate said sleeve. f l

f Ai Wood-turningy machine having, in

combination, a cutter, Va table having a Work snonortine; incans said table bein@ movable toward and from said cutter, means autoi, inatically-operable upon movement of said Y tablepaivayirom said cutter. to actuatexsaidy i first-mentioned means to release the Work,

y springiiieans oilierativel-y connected to saidiirst mentioned means for actuating the latter to clamp new` Work en the table when said table isinovedV intoV a 'predetermined position, said spi-ingmeans being adapted to be discone nected from said first mentioned means, and'- means for manually actuating said first mens tioned means to clamp new Work onthetable.

4. A Wood-turning machine having, in

combination, .a main frame having a cutterV mounted tliereon,ja table vhavingla pair 'of spindles mounted in Yspaced relation, said table being movable to carryrthe Work into and out of engagement with thev cutter, driv-` ingnieans-t'or said spindles, `means normally urgingone of said spindles axially to Work clamping position, means for automaticallyVV releasing the Work andV clamping new Work.

'Y in place, saidineans comprising a member actuate the spindle and ineffective during` the returnv movement fof; the table f toward the movablyvmounted on said table and .adapted to abut a stationary part onsaid frame during movement of said'table from the cutter Vand to be moved relative to said table bysuch engagement, and means connecting said member and said spindle eiiective during the movement of said table from the cutter to cutter to actua-te the spindle.

5. A Wood-turning machine having, in combination, a main frame having a cutter mounted thereon, a pair of Work supporting spindles mountedon a second frame,'one of said frames being movable'tovvard and from,V

the: other, one of said yspindles being mounted so as to permit of longitudinal movement v thereof, spring means for moving said spindle, iny oneV direction to secure the Work between saidV spindles, and meansV for ,movinggfsaid' spindle in the other direction against the force of said spring, saidy means comprising alever on said secondV frame having a lost motion connection with said spindle,` means on the other frame arranged to engagexsaid lever to release theivorkas:the'mov'able trani-e' is moved toward inoperative position, said lost motion connection serving toV .prevent` op;Y eration off .said releasing means 'on the return movement of said movable frame tor'its 'opierative position. v

6. A Wood-turning machine having, incoinbinati'on, a` irstfraime having aqcutterl mounted therein, a second fr-ain'eihaving a Bof pair ofWorksu-pporting spindles,I one of vsaid .Y

longitudinal' movement of said spindle when' saidleveri-s- 'moveda bellerank "on said second:

trame havingga longitudinal slot interi-er arm the-ireefajlink having oneend pivotal-ly con-4 95 nectedto said tirs-t lever 'and the' other end slidablyf engagingsaid slot, and means on said tirs-t frame arranged to be engaged by the other arm of said bell cranktocauserocking `movement of said bell crank, said link serving to transmit such ln'rovemen-t te thelever When theirames are-separated and-thejslotted con-1y nection between said link and said lever' serving tofprevent transmissionfo this move men-t tothe lever as thel iii-ames are movedv together. y

In testimony Wliereofive` have hereunto aiiixe'd oursign-atures.. s 1 Y CARL, L.L ,MATTIsoN Icieiiiiiiiiis EDWARD. nit. Points. l

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